The Hershey Bears announced on Sunday that they have signed goaltender Justin Kapelmaster to a professional tryout agreement (PTO).
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The Hershey Bears announced today that the club has signed goaltender Justin Kapelmaster to a professional tryout agreement (PTO). The announcement was made by Hershey Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer.
Kapelmaster, 27, has appeared in one game with the ECHL’s Reading Royals this season, making 23 saves in a 5-3 loss at Maine on Nov. 23. He has prior AHL experience with the Cleveland Monsters, playing two games in the 2020-21 season, going 2-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.
The 6’1″, 216-pound goaltender has appeared in 39 career ECHL games with Fort Wayne, Allen, Indy, Jacksonville, Worcester, and Reading, posting a 14-19-3 record, a 2.39 goals-against average, and a .907 save percentage to go along with five shutouts. He was a member of Fort Wayne’s 2021 Kelly Cup Championship team, earning one win in the postseason.
Kapelmaster will wear #1 for Hershey.
The move could signal that the Washington Capitals may have recalled Zach Fucale or Hunter Shepard due to an injury sustained by Darcy Kuemper in Saturday night’s game against the Calgary Flames. [More here.]
Shepard is 6-0-2 with a 1.83 GAA (1st in AHL) and a .932 save percentage (tied for first in AHL). Fucale is 8-4-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .912 save percentage.
The Capitals have made no additional statements on Sunday regarding the status of Kuemper. The Capitals cancelled practice for today, however Peter Laviolette will meet with the media at 12P45MT.
#Caps will not hold practice today. Head coach Peter Laviolette will address the media at 12:45 pm outside the Caps locker room. https://t.co/pMWyeA39y8
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) December 4, 2022
The Bears play host to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this afternoon at 3PM ET.